


Checo's Chaotic Children

by BearWithAHat



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Babysitting, Chaos, Crack Treated Seriously, Humor, Lance and Esteban are little kids in this sjsjs, M/M, This Is STUPID, Zoo, checo and Nico are college students sjsj, checo is their babysitter hehe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27479506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BearWithAHat/pseuds/BearWithAHat
Summary: Checo gets an unexpected call to babysit, and chaos ensues.
Relationships: Nico Hulkenberg/Sergio Perez
Comments: 17
Kudos: 53





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> to be honest I've been wanting to write this for a while and I'm writing it right now to procrastinate on fics for an exchange that I still need to finish 😩😩 but anyways a big thanks to ms singlepringle2023 on Tumblr for inspiring this idea sjsjsj I love u bb ❤️ 
> 
> I didn't state a specific age for lance and Esteban in this but let's just assume that they're both under the age of ten; young enough to be chaotic and funny while still definitely needing a babysitter lol 🙈 similarly, I just said that checo and Nico are university students, so they're just vaguely defined young adults sjsjsj
> 
> ALSO Esteban is one of those chaotic little kids whose parents put him on one of those toddler leashes ajsjdshs if you don't know what im talking about, just google 'toddler leash'

"Nice to spend a night with you all alone, no classwork or annoying roommates," Nico purred, pressing a kiss to the top of Checo's head. They were cuddled up on the couch at his parents home, who had gone out for the night, and Checo was laying on top of him, smiling blissfully.

"I know, we've been so busy lately that I can't even remember the last time we got to just hang out like this," he sighed, nuzzling his cheek against Nico's chest. The feeling of his boyfriend's arms around him was comforting and Checo swore he could have fallen asleep despite it still being relatively early.

Checo hugged his waist and leaned up to capture Nico's lips in a kiss. He let his eyes fall shut as Nico kissed him back and tangled a hand into his hair, and Checo let Nico part his lips to deepen the kiss. 

"I love you," Nico murmured against his lips between kisses, tugging gently at his hair.

"I love you too," Checo responded before kissing him again. Everything was perfect for him at that moment; he was on a holiday break from university and getting to spend time alone with his boyfriend, and he was comfortable laying on the couch and kissing him. The only things Checo could think about were the feelings of Nico's lips against his and his hands on his back, rubbing his back soothingly.

It was going perfectly until they were interrupted by the sound of Checo's phone ringing. With an irritated sigh, Checo pulled away from Nico and sat up. He peered over at his phone, which lay on the nearby coffee table, to see if it was something important. 

Nico tugged on his arm and said, "ignore it, babe," while he stroked his side with his other hand.

"I can't, it's one of the families I babysit for," Checo groaned. He crawled off of Nico and picked up his phone, answering with a falsely cheerful greeting. As much as he loved kids and really needed the money babysitting provided, Checo had been desperately hoping to avoid babysitting over his break. 

"The parents are going on some unexpected business trip and need me to babysit last minute," Checo pouted when he hung up his phone. The disappointment of not getting to spend time with Nico hurt a lot, but he would feel bad leaving the family without a babysitter, and he wanted to be helpful. Still, he frowned as he tucked his phone into his pocket and slipped his shoes back on.

Nico stood up too and gave him a soft smile. The German wrapped his arms around him and held him securely for a few seconds, and Checo found it calming to just stand in his arms for a few moments. His breathing slowed and he felt he could think more clearly as he hid his face against Nico's shoulder and let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry, I was really really hoping nothing like this would happen. I just wanted to spend some time with you," Checo mumbled as Nico kissed his cheek. 

"Me too, but if you're needed elsewhere, then I understand. We can hang out once the kid's parents get back," Nico reassured him with a clap on the back. He pulled him into one last kiss before Checo gathered his belongings and went out the door.

"Call me if you need anything, or if you just want to talk," Nico said with a wave, standing on the front porch.

Checo looked over his shoulder and said, "I will, unless he kills me first. This kid is a nightmare sometimes." 

Luckily for him, he had an overnight bag with him already since he had originally been going to be spending the night with Nico. Checo tossed his bag into the passengers seat and started his car, ruefully driving away. He was just about to pull up to the little house he was asked to babysit at when his phone rang once more.

"Oh god, now what?" Checo muttered as he pulled over to the side of the road to answer. He shouldn't have been surprised when he saw it was another parent who normally asked him to babysit, and he knew that he was probably going to have to figure out how to babysit two kids at once.

He answered and listened as yet another family needed him to babysit for three days. If it weren't for the stress of the situation, he would have thought it was funny that two of his clients were going away at the same time. Instead, Checo bit his lip and tried to think of a solution. 

"Sir, I am babysitting for another family for the next three days too. If I babysit for you too, I would need to bring the other kid with me to your house so that I can take care of him too. Is that okay with you, or would you rather look for a different sitter?" Checo asked in his most professional sounding voice. 

Part of him almost wished that the answer would be no. It was hard enough to take care of one kid, and he didn't know if he could handle taking care of two. But with his luck, the answer was _sure, come on over!_

Checo parked in the driveway and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath before he got out and knocked on the door. Right from the start, there was loud yelling inside and he heard the shrill voice of the little kid who had a love for driving his babysitter up the wall. Checo hoped he didn't look intimated as he stood there and smiled while he waited for someone to answer the door.

"Hi Mrs. Ocon," he swallowed uncomfortably, "I just got a call from another parent who needs me to babysit for the next three days too. If it's okay with you, I could take your son to their house so I can watch both of them."

The lady gave a polite smile but was obviously in a hurry, and Checo could hear the sounds of somebody rolling a suitcase and the pitter-patter of an excited little kid running around. She looked over her shoulder and yelled something in French, a language Checo did not speak, before saying, "yes, that's fine. Please text us updates each night, and I'm so sorry for the short notice, hon."

There was little Checo could say before both of the Ocon parents were hugging their son goodbye and pushing a bit of money into Checo's hands. The Mexican watched them pull off to rush to the airport. He stepped into the house slowly, peering in and looking for the kid.

"Esteban?" Checo called out in as sweet of a voice that he could manage. He crept through the house until he came across the boy in question, sitting with a pout and his arms crossed on the couch.

"I don't like you," Esteban complained simply. He was trying to make a mean face, although it was rendered useless by the fact that he was still a very little kid and not as scary as he wanted to be. Checo rolled his eyes; he knew very well that Esteban didn't exactly love him even though the boy's parents were very fond of him. If it weren't for the fact that he was a grown adult, Checo would have loved to tell the kid that he felt much the same.

Regardless of how much of a pain in the ass Esteban could be, Checo still did his best to be kind and gentle with him and take good care of him. 

"Hi buddy, we're gonna sleepover at the house of another kid I have to take care of. I think you guys will get along well, and there's a lot of fun things to do there. Let's get some of your stuff gathered and get going, okay?" Checo suggested. He talked in an excited voice, which normally got the kids he babysat to agree happily and go along with him.

Esteban frowned and narrowed his eyes but slid off the couch anyways. Checo held his tiny hand and let the boy lead him to his bedroom, where he opened the dresser drawers and pulled out some of Esteban's clothes and set them in the boy's suitcase. He was just folding a pair of pyjamas when Esteban ran to the corner of his room and returned with a stuffed animal, holding it close to him as he scowled at Checo.

"Good, you've got your monkey," Checo chuckled as he watched the French boy cuddle the monkey plushie close to himself. He zipped up the small suitcase and handed it to Esteban, looking around for one last thing.

"And we've got this just in case we need to go somewhere," he added as he pulled out the leash that the boy's parents kept in the top drawer of his dresser. It had a monkey on the back since apparently Esteban loved monkeys, and Checo tucked it into the suitcase despite Esteban's protesting.

The whole concept of putting a kid on a leash always made Checo laugh a bit. Esteban complained about it yet didn't behave without it in public. Checo remembered the traumatic few times that Esteban had run off from him in public before his parents had gotten a leash for him out of desperation. He had ran through malls and stores alike until he finally found Esteban getting himself into trouble somehow, and Checo was just glad that they had come up with the solution of a leash before he ended up having to tell his parents that he lost Esteban somewhere.

"Come on, Este," Checo encouraged him to leave.

Esteban dramatically dragged his feet while he followed Checo out of the house and to the parked car. Checo made sure he was snugly strapped into the backseat with his monkey before he climbed into the driver's seat once more and turned the car on.

"You listen to bad music," Esteban complained as they drove. Checo rolled his eyes and glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"I don't control what's on the radio, bud," Checo hummed and turned it to another station. He focused on the road ahead of him but made sure to glance at Esteban every once in a while to make sure he wasn't about to climb out the window or do something else ridiculous. 

When they arrived at the house, Esteban looked out the window with wide eyes. Compared to the house his family lived in, it was much bigger and very impressive looking, and Checo too had to admit that he was always impressed by the house whenever he was called to babysit. His own college dorm room and family home were puny next to the Stroll family home, which he figured was just one of many properties they owned. 

"Alrighty. I'm going to introduce you to another kid named Lance, okay? He's about your age, just a little younger I think, and I need you guys to get along for the next few days," Checo explained while he got Esteban out of his car seat.

Esteban just shrugged and seemed to be fine with staying at a different, fancier house for a bit. They knocked on the door and Checo was once again greeted by busy parents who were trying to rush out the door. The two barely even noticed Esteban standing by his side, and Checo was given a rather generous amount of money from them before they sped away in some expensive looking car.

Checo led Esteban inside the upscale house and found it quiet, which wasn't abnormal for the shy boy who lived there. With a smile, Checo peered down the hall and saw a pair of big brown eyes gazing back at him from a bedroom.

He crouched down to be on eye level and extended his arms, and a second later, the boy ran towards him and hugged him. Checo smiled and hugged him back, ruffling his dark, fluffy hair.

"Hi Lance, it's good to see you again," Checo cooed as he hugged him. Lance didn't say anything in return, only making a happy sounding noise and clutching at his shirt.

Checo stood up a few seconds later and placed a hand on Esteban's shoulder, hoping that the two would get along well with each other. "Lance, this is Esteban. He's another kid I babysit. He's going to stay with us for the next few days because his parents are also busy," he explained, and he was happy to find that Esteban seemed genuinely curious about this newcomer in his life, not making anymore rude and unhappy faces.

"Hi," Lance squeaked, extending his hand to Esteban.

Esteban held onto his stuffed animal with one arm and shook Lance's hand slowly, looking at him through narrowed eyes until he eventually broke out into a big smile. The two kids seemed to share a look between them before running off to the living room, presumably to play. 

Checo smiled and was relieved that he wouldn't have to constantly be mitigating arguments. He trekked down the hall to where he knew Lance's bedroom was. It was larger than his entire dorm at college, which wasn't exactly surprising given how rich the family was. 

Assuming that they would want to sleep in the same room, Checo set Esteban's suitcase down inside the doorframe and grabbed a few spare pillows from the closet, setting them on the bed. He ventured into a guest room across the hall, figuring it would be best for him to sleep near them just in case they needed anything. Checo made sure that there were sheets on the bed and sent a text to Nico, telling him everything that had happened and saying that he would call him later.

When he returned to the living room, Checo was glad to see Lance and Esteban playing together on the floor. They had toy cars out and were excitedly chattering as they came up with some game to keep themselves entertained. Esteban still had his stuffed monkey with him, and sat it on the floor next to him. 

Checo glanced at his phone to check the time and asked, "is there anything you guys want to have for dinner?" 

Lance and Esteban quieted down and were deep in thought for a moment. "Macaroni and cheese," Esteban said after a few moments, to which Lance nodded happily. The two kids resumed their playing and Checo wandered into the kitchen.

Like the rest of the house, it was very large and lavishly decorated. Checo wasn't even sure he could count the amount of cabinets and drawers that lined the room, and he wasn't sure where to start in terms of looking for ingredients. First he checked the fridge, only to find that there wasn't much in it except for alcohol, which he might need later but couldn't quite give to the children if he wanted to keep his job.

"Jesus Christ, you'd think a bunch of billionaires would have a bit of food in their kitchen," Checo muttered under his breath as he searched through cabinets only to find more and more expensive fine china and relatively little edible stuff. He rubbed his eyes as he resigned to the fact that he was probably going to have to go to the store.

He walked back out to the living room and took a seat on the couch, watching Lance and Esteban giggle and scamper around with each other for a few minutes.

"Lance, Este, we're going to go to the grocery store to get a few things. Let's get ready to go," Checo explained in what he liked to call his teacher voice. It was the firm yet gentle tone he used when he was giving instructions to kids.

It only took a few minutes for the lot of them to be out the door and piling into Checo's car. He debated if he needed to take the leash for Esteban or not. They would only be there for a few minutes, and he figured that Esteban would be better behaved since Lance was there with them, and so he elected not to take it. Checo drove them to the grocery store and held each boy's hand, one on either side of him, as they walked through the parking lot.

At first, it went just fine. Lance and Esteban followed along with him obediently and didn't cause a ruckus. As the younger of the two, Lance was nearly always quiet and well behaved; Checo never had to worry about the shy boy acting up or creating trouble. On the other hand, he had to worry quite a bit about Esteban, given his track record with being a problem and making Checo's life exciting in the worst way possible.

Checo led them down a few aisles until they found the boxed macaroni, the kind that only required one to put the noodles in boiling water and mix in the cheese after draining. Sure, it was probably very cheap and lazy compared to whatever Lance was used to, but Checo didn't have the energy or cooking skills to care enough.

"What kind do you want? The cheddar cheese stuff?" he asked, looking over the different boxes on the shelves. Lance and Esteban were right next to him, or so he thought they were. Checo peered over his shoulder to see what kind they wanted and was greeted with the sight of only Lance standing there.

Right away, he knew that something wasn't right. Checo stood there and looked down at Lance, who peered up at him through his long eyelashes, and it took him a moment to figure out that there was supposed to be another kid next to Lance. He gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth, trying to figure out what to do and feeling a mixture of anger and anxiety coursing through him.

"Oh my fuck...oh my god," he breathed out, remembering that he shouldn't curse in front of Lance. Checo took a deep breath and leaned down to ask, "Lance, sweetie, where did Esteban go?"

"Um, I don't know," Lance said softly as he shrugged his shoulders.

Checo groaned and took Lance's hand. He walked at a brisk pace and began to frantically search the store for the troublesome boy. They looked down each aisle, but Esteban wasn't in any of them, and Checo felt his panic level rising with each empty aisle. The fact that he had to keep calm in front of Lance made it all the more terrifying and Checo felt like he was on the verge of passing out.

"God fucking damnit, I knew I should have brought the damn leash for him," Checo cursed under his breath so that Lance didn't hear. His cheeks flushed red with embarrassment every time they passed by other customers who gave them judgmental looks, understandably wondering why a college student was running around the grocery store in a panic with a little kid being dragged along behind him.

Lance had to practically run to keep up with him, and Checo felt bad at having to run around with him because of Esteban's habit of misbehaving. Part of him felt guilty about it too; he should have kept a closer eye on Esteban or taken the weird monkey leash along with him.

He wasn't sure how long they had been running around or how many aisles they had been down when they finally turned the corner and found Esteban. The boy was kneeling on the floor, looking at a seafood display. There were lobsters in a tank and he seemed very entranced by them. Checo let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in and practically sprinted over to him, with Lance stumbling along behind.

" _Esteban!_ " Checo reprimanded him in a sharp tone, "what were you thinking?! You ran away from me and I had no idea where you were. All you were supposed to do was follow me and Lance and pick out what you wanted me to make for dinner, not run away from me so that I have to run through the entire store to find you! You know how dangerous it is for you to run away from me like that, you could have been kidnapped or something!" 

He was out of breath and knew he probably looked a tiny bit insane to everyone else in the store. Lance was clutching at his leg and was very quiet, while Esteban looked at him with a frown and stomped his foot impatiently.

"I got bored," was all he offered. 

"I don't care that you were bored, you still need to stay with me. This is why your parents put you on a leash, now I'll have to carry you until we get back to the car so that you don't run away from me again," Checo told him in a stern voice.

He stood up and scooped Esteban into his arms, holding him with one arm. Esteban pouted and complained in a high pitched voice, clutching at his shoulder and kicking his feet for a few seconds. Checo simply ignored him and carried him back to the aisle they were supposed to be looking in. Lance held his other hand and glanced up at Esteban a few times. 

"Can we get this kind?" Lance asked, pointing to one of the branded boxes. Esteban didn't offer any input and had settled down, resting his head on Checo's shoulder and seemingly worn out from wandering around the store.

"Sure, buddy," Checo answered. He felt just as weary as Esteban did and let Lance pick the box of macaroni. 

After paying for it with some of the money he had been given, Checo carried Esteban and held Lance's hand to take them back to his car. Lance clutched the boxed macaroni in his other hand and Checo was glad that it wouldn't require much effort to cook.

Once back at the Stroll's house, Checo made sure that Esteban and Lance were occupied in the living room before he went to cook the macaroni. Lance pulled out a bunch of crayons and colouring books, and he and Esteban were busy drawing when Checo went into the kitchen to start boiling the water. 

He leaned against the counter after he put the water on. The quiet sound of the stove running made it easy to hear Lance and Esteban, so he felt he could safely stay in the kitchen and keep an eye on the water while listening to make sure they stayed out of trouble. At least Esteban liked Lance and didn't misbehave at the house. Checo rubbed his tired eyes and stood up again, pulling his phone out. There was a few texts and a missed call from Nico, and Checo sent him a message to say that he would call him later.

It thankfully didn't take long to cook the macaroni, and Checo took a bowl out for each of the kids. While they ate, Checo stepped into the bathroom to prepare to run a bath for Lance. He took care of the dishes when they finished, and Lance scampered off to take his bath.

Checo sat down on the couch and gestured for Esteban to sit next to him. Esteban eyed him suspiciously before he crawled up to sit with him. As Esteban yawned and rubbed at his eyes, Checo put an arm around him and patted his hair, smiling softly when Esteban snuggled against him and looked like he was ready to fall asleep. Esteban liked to give him trouble and insist that he didn't like Checo, but it was quite evident that he didn't really dislike him.

"You can't run away from me like you did in the store today, okay buddy? I have to take care of you and Lance so I need you guys to be good. That makes my job so much easier," Checo murmured, gently stroking his hair.

Esteban nodded and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms as far around Checo as he could. "I'm sorry," he yawned quietly, and Checo smiled down at him.

When Lance finished taking a bath and was dressed in his pyjamas, Checo filled the bath once more for Esteban. Lance wandered out to where Checo sat on the couch and peered shyly at him from where he stood in the doorframe.

“Let’s get you to bed, sweetheart,” Checo said with a laugh. 

He picked Lance up and rubbed his back as he carried him to the boy’s bedroom. Lance laid his head on his shoulder and put his arms around his neck.

“Are you and Esteban becoming friends?” Checo asked as he pushed the door open with his knee. 

Lance nodded and said, “yeah, he’s funny. And I like playing with him.”

“Aw, that’s good. I’m glad to hear it,” Checo shifted to hold Lance with one arm and pulled the sheets of his bed down with his other hand. He gently set Lance down and helped him get settled, tucking him in and pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

“Goodnight, sweet boy, I’ll bring Esteban in to go to sleep in a few minutes,” Checo cooed before he slipped out the door.

It didn’t take long for Esteban to skip out of the bathroom with his pyjamas on. He ran into the living room momentarily and came back clutching his monkey plushie. Checo took his hand and led him to Lance’s room, quietly opening the door once more.

Lance was clearly on the verge of falling asleep when Checo helped Esteban climb into bed next to him. Still, the Canadian smiled sleepily and scooted closer to Esteban, who rolled onto his side and hugged the monkey close. The sight of the two kids falling asleep together made Checo's heart melt and he stood in the doorframe and fondly watched them for a moment.

"I'll be in the room across the hall if you guys need anything. Sleep well, I'll see you two in the morning," Checo said softly. When he got a sleepy response from both of them, he gently shut the door and let out a long sigh, the tension in his shoulders suddenly making him want to lay down.

Checo changed clothes and flopped down onto the bed in the room across the hallway. The mattress was very soft and heavenly to his sore back, especially given that he was used to sleeping on the barely adequate bed in his college housing. The silk sheets too were quite a luxury to him, and they were incredibly soft against his skin. He picked up his phone from the nightstand and lay on his back once more as he finally got to call his boyfriend.

"Hey baby, how are things going?" Nico's smooth voice was happily received by his worn out self. He was still partially disappointed that they hadn't been able to spend the night with Nico, and calling him made it hurt just a little bit more.

"I just put them to bed. Oh god I forgot how tiring kids are...things went fine, except for when we had to make a trip to the grocery store. Esteban ran away from me and I had to practically run all over the entire store to find him. I thought he wouldn't do that since Lance was there too, and so I didn't bring the leash his parents put him on. I guess I was being too hopeful," Checo broke down and told him. It felt good to tell someone else what had happened and he smiled at the sound of Nico laughing on the other end of the line.

"Well, at least you caught him. I still wish you were here with me," Nico hummed, and Checo shifted to lay on his stomach and crossed his arms.

"Me too. Falling asleep with you sounds really nice right now," Checo responded, hugging his arms around himself to make up for the fact that he couldn't be held by his boyfriend.

"I know, it does. Just a few more days and then we can get back to our vacation plans," Nico reassured him, and Checo imagined the smile he probably had on his face.

They talked for a few more minutes until Checo felt like he was too tired to speak anymore, and he hung up after saying multiple _I love you_ 's. Begrudgingly, Checo set an alarm on his phone for the next morning and tossed his phone onto the floor. He collapsed down onto the bed and gathered the silk sheets over himself, the pillows feeling like a cloud, and fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Second Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe hi im back with chapter 2 ❤️❤️ I love this fic sjsjdh I know its a bit stupid but I love it. putting kids in leashes is a bit funny to me but Esteban in monkey leash? comedy gold.

Checo groaned and reached over to roughly slap his phone and turn off the alarm at exactly seven in the morning. He sat up, rubbed at his eyes, and took one last moment to appreciate the soft feeling of expensive silk sheets against his legs before getting out of bed. Reaching over to get his phone, Checo tried to think of some ideas for how to keep the kids entertained.

He called Nico as he pulled some clothes out of his suitcase and shrugged his sleepwear off. The sound of his boyfriend's yawn and sleepy voice when he answered made him momentarily swoon and dwell on the night he could have spent with Nico.

"Hey, how's it going?" Nico asked, and Checo could picture his messed up hair when he woke up and the way he stretched his shoulders as he sat up in bed.

"I just woke up. The kids are still sleeping, but I'm expecting they'll wake up soon," Checo said with a sigh as he pulled on a pair of jeans, "I don't know what I'll do with them today. I could just stay here and let them play, but I know that they'll probably want to go somewhere and do something."

He could hear the sound of Nico getting out of bed and wished he could have been there with him. "Take them to the zoo. Kids like animals, right?" Nico suggested.

Checo broke out into a smile and nodded, as if Nico could see him. The zoo wasn't too far away and it was a fairly cheap option. The kids would have fun looking at the animals, and the copious amounts of walking around would tire them out, meaning Checo would have less shenanigans to put up with from them later. He would have loved to squeeze Nico's cheeks and kiss him in that moment.

"Oh you're a genius," Checo breathed out, "thank you so much, babe, I'll have to make it up to you when I get back. You're the only thing keeping me sane sometimes, I swear."

"You said it, not me. I love you, good luck today," Nico cooed, and Checo didn't know it was possible for his heart to melt over a phone call. He was about to hang up when he frowned and felt a bit of nervousness course through him.

"But what if they misbehave? What if Esteban makes me cry somehow?" Checo asked in a panicked voice. 

He heard Nico stifle a laugh. "If the kids start testing your patience, just remember that you graduated from grade school and you don't have to take shit from anyone," Nico said in a smooth tone, and Checo couldn't help but break out into a smile.

Checo said his goodbye and slipped out of the bedroom once he was dressed. He stopped by Lance's bedroom, peeking in to see him and Esteban still asleep. The blankets were still tucked snug around them and Esteban's monkey was cradled between them. It was a cute sight, and Checo smiled before letting the door shut silently once more. 

He made his way into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets until he found some cereal. As he sat at the table and ate the simple breakfast, Checo appreciated the peace and quiet that he figured wouldn't last too long. He knew that he would definitely be bringing Esteban's leash to the zoo; the last thing he needed was for him to run away and become a meal for a lion or get kidnapped by the lemurs.

It was as he was washing his bowl that he heard the distinct sound of small feet running on the tile floor. Lance came sliding into the room with Esteban holding his hand, the stuffed animal tucked underneath his other arm. The two of them wandered up to Checo and he looked down as Lance clutched at the leg of his jeans.

"Good morning, guys," Checo said with a smile. He turned the sink off and dried his hands on his jeans before kneeling down to be on eye level with them. Lance yawned and rubbed at his eye, and Checo reached out to ruffle his hair fondly.

"It's a pretty day out, so how about we go to the zoo?" he suggested, and both of the boys nodded with a bright look in their eyes. They seemed to have quickly become friends, and Checo thought the way Lance held Esteban's hand was rather sweet. Even if Esteban caused chaos, at least the two of them got along. Checo was convinced he would have fallen over dead if he had to put up with them arguing.

"Can we see monkeys there?" Esteban asked with a fascinated tone, clutching the stuffed animal tightly in one arm and holding Lance's hand. 

Checo nodded and patted his head, saying, "sure, buddy, I would imagine they have monkeys there. Why don't you guys go get dressed? I can make something for breakfast."

With that, Lance and Esteban scampered out of the kitchen and back down the hall, running to the bedroom to get their clothes out. Checo trusted that they could dress themselves. If they couldn't, he could fix them up once he cooked something for breakfast. As with the night before, Checo had to rummage through quite a few cabinets before he actually found anything that he could use.

Some eggs would have to do, Checo decided as he pulled a few out of the refrigerator and fished a frying pan out of the cabinets. He set the frying pan on the stove and turned it on, proceeding to crack the eggs on the edge and beginning to cook them. As Checo let the eggs cook and flipped them with a spatula, he raised an eyebrow when he heard a loud clicking of what sounded like high heels on the tile floors.

He stepped away from the stove for a few minutes and poked his head out into the hall. There wasn't anybody in the hall from what he could see, and he took a few steps down the hall. Checo kept wandering until he passed by a room where he saw movement, and he peered in to see Lance looking through his parents dresser. The Canadian had on a pair of sparkly pink cowboy boots, responsible for the loud clacking noises.

"What are you looking for, buddy?" Checo asked, pushing the door further open and entering the room.

Lance pushed the drawer shut and turned around, looking like he had just been caught something he wasn't allowed to do. "Looking for my hat," Lance admitted shyly.

Checo smiled and beckoned for him to come closer. When Lance waddled over to him, Checo scooped him up in his arms and kissed the top of his head, his fluffy hair still needing to be brushed. 

"You don't need it right this second, we'll look for it when it's time to go. Where is Esteban?" he asked as he carried Lance out of his parents' bedroom. 

Lance clung to his shirt and said, "He's still getting dressed." Lance himself had put on plain jeans and a pink t-shirt that had horses on it, going along perfectly with the many horse toys he had and the many pink pieces of clothes and furniture that was in his room.

Checo nodded and carried Lance into the bathroom. He made sure the boy brushed his teeth before he had Lance sit on his lap while he ran a brush through his hair. Lance sat still as Checo brushed his hair, his hands folded neatly and listening to his babysitter hum quietly. Just as he was setting the hairbrush on the counter and Lance was climbing off his lap, Esteban barged through the door.

"Brush your teeth and then I'll brush your hair too, Esteban," Checo told him. Thankfully Esteban simply did as he was told, brushing his teeth quickly and scampering into Checo's arms when he was done.

Lance sat on the bathroom floor and looked up at them while Checo carefully brushed Esteban's hair. He chattered excitedly to the French boy, the two of them occasionally slipping into Esteban's native language. Checo didn't understand French but he just hoped that they weren't saying anything mean or inappropriate and carded his fingers through Esteban's hair once he was done brushing it.

Just then, there was an odd smell that reached him as they stepped out of the bathroom. Checo raised an eyebrow and tried to identify it, and he gasped and had to put a hand on the wall to steady himself when he realized what it was.

"Oh god, I left the eggs on the stove!" he exclaimed and sprinted down the hall to the kitchen. Lance and Esteban were confused but followed behind him, and Checo slid into the kitchen and turned the stove off as fast as humanly possible. He was out of breath as he stood in front of the stove, surveying the damage.

The eggs were rather burnt, not entirely but definitely beyond the point where anybody would want to eat them. Checo sighed heavily and took the hot pan off the stove. He dumped the burnt eggs in the garbage bin and tossed the pan in the sink, trying to think of what to do next. It wasn't a great way to start the day and Checo felt slightly embarrassed as Lance and Esteban blinked up at him from where they stood in the doorframe. 

"I forgot the eggs were on the stove," Checo wearily explained. He rubbed at his eyes and didn't know why he was justifying himself to two kids who probably didn't care, but he was afraid that the day would only get worse after a chaotic start.

"Let's just stop somewhere along the way to the zoo. You guys can go get your shoes, and Lance you can go find whatever hat you were looking for now," Checo decided.

Lance and Esteban ran back down the hall to Lance's room, and Checo sulked in the kitchen while they got ready to go. He eventually dragged himself back to the room he was staying in and collected his phone, wallet, and car keys. When he opened his phone, he found that Nico had sent him a photo.

Checo opened it and felt his worries disappear a little as he looked at a picture of his boyfriend with his little Pomeranian dog in his lap. He sighed and stroked a finger over the screen, wishing Nico was there with him. Things always felt a little less crazy with him, even when things like accidentally burning the eggs happened. He opened the camera on his phone to send a picture back, smiling despite his stressed out moment from before. 

Feeling a bit better after seeing his boyfriends smile, Checo ran a hand through his hair and shoved his phone and wallet into his pocket. Outside he could hear Lance's loud boots once more. Checo had assumed that the boy would take them off and put on something more normal for going to the zoo, but in Lance's fabulous little world, sparkly pink cowboy boots were the way to go regardless of where he was going.

Esteban and Lance were sitting on the floor near the door when Checo stepped out of his bedroom. The pair of them were giggling amongst themselves, and Checo saw that Lance had a little pink cowboy hat to match his shoes, the type that looked like it came from a cheap store and had rhinestones around the edge and a little crown on the front. Checo thought it was adorable and he hoped that Lance never grew out of that sort of enthusiasm. 

He quickly ducked into Lance's room while Esteban was distracted by talking to Lance. The suitcase packed for Esteban lay on the ground, still unzipped from Esteban getting dressed earlier. Checo rummaged around in the front pocket of it until he found the monkey leash, something he was absolutely not leaving behind after the grocery store incident.

Checo carried the leash with him as he ushered Lance and Esteban out the door. Esteban made a high pitched noise and stomped his foot angrily when he saw the leash in his hand, and Checo tutted the second he said started to complain.

"Esteban, you ran away from me yesterday. I need to make sure you won't run away again today, especially because the zoo is much bigger and more dangerous than the grocery store," Checo insisted in his teacher voice.

Esteban pouted and wrinkled his nose but didn't say anything further, following behind Lance as Checo led them out to where his car was parked. Checo buckled them into their carseats and was glad to hear Esteban calmly talking to Lance as he drove, not whining about the leash situation. 

They stopped at some diner along the way. Checo didn't order anything since he had at least eaten cereal, a meal he couldn't mess up like the eggs. Lance and Esteban happily ate an order of pancakes while Checo sat beside them and answered the text messages from their parents.

The Ocons wanted to know how their _darling angel Esteban_ was behaving for Checo. At first he wasn't sure what he should tell them and what he should 'forget' to include in the message. He bit his lip and decided to give them a watered down version of the events at the grocery store, writing that Esteban had 'been a little difficult' the previous night but was being better today.

Checo paid the bill and they all piled back into his car once they were done. A while later, they pulled up to the zoo, which Lance and Esteban were rather excited about. It was very sunny and warm out and so Checo rubbed sunscreen on the both of them as their parents would have asked him to, although both of them weren't too happy about it. Then came the time to put the monkey leash on Esteban.

From the start, Checo knew it was going to be a hassle. It always was; Esteban always was difficult when it came to the leash, but he also acted up and ran away without it, and so Checo was left with no other option.

Esteban made a face at him the moment that he saw Checo pull the leash out of the passenger side of the car. He crossed his arms and Checo could already feel the headache he would get from wrestling Esteban into the leash. 

"Come here, Este," Checo gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder and began to put the straps of the leash over his shoulders and around his torso. Esteban struggled against him and Checo had to loop an arm around his waist to keep him in place while he tried to buckle the straps. 

"No!" Esteban shouted, flailing around in Checo's arms. He frantically tried to push away from him and waved his hands around, smacking Checo squarely in his face. Lance at least was very distracted by a worm on the concrete, which he was crouching on the ground and watching, and thus didn't see Checo and Esteban's power struggle going on.

" _Excuse_ me, you do not _hit_ me, young man!" Checo firmly reprimanded him through clenched teeth. His cheek and nose stung from where Esteban slapped him and it took all the patience and maturity in his 173 centimeters of being to not yell at him.

Esteban grumbled and continued to make an irritated face, but he stood still afterward and let Checo finish buckling him into the monkey leash. Checo gripped the leash tightly and wrapped part of it around his hand like when he and Nico took the German's dog for a walk. Lance perked up when Checo called his name, and Checo held Lance's hand with his free hand.

Just like at the grocery store, things went fine at first. Checo and the kids made their way through the zoo, with Esteban walking nicely on the monkey leash and Lance clutching Checo's hand tightly. They stopped at the different enclosures and watched each of the animals for a few minutes. Lance and Esteban looked at all the animals with the bright-eyed enthusiasm that little kids viewed the world in, and Checo felt that maybe the chaos of the day was worth it to see their smiles and astonished looks as they looked at elephants, lions, exotic birds, and snakes that Checo personally didn't care to stay around for long.

He let Lance and Esteban drag him around the zoo, going to see the animals they wanted to see. Esteban only complained about the leash a few times and he generally only stayed within a few feet of Checo anyway, to the babysitter's relief. Lance was very amazed by the giraffes, which poked their heads over the fence and looked curiously down at them. 

Checo picked up Lance with his free arm to let him look at them better. Their sweet brown eyes made Lance giggle, which brought a smile to Checo's face. They moved on to see bears, zebras, and a whole myriad of reptiles that Esteban liked watching.

"I wanna see monkeys," Esteban pleaded with him at one point. Checo had figured he was going to ask at one point or another, and so they made their way over to where the monkeys' enclosure was. 

There were a few other people there, and Checo made the mistake of letting Esteban having a little freedom on the leash. The boy had been behaving fine so far, and so he figured there was no harm in letting him wander a few more inches out. Lance was still standing on his other side and holding his hand, leaning against him as the three of them watched the monkeys climbing and playing in their environment. Esteban was thrilled to see the monkeys, and Checo smiled as he saw him beaming up at them.

He looked down at Lance when he heard him yawning. Checo briefly let go of Lance's hand to pat the top of his cowboy hat, which he was still wearing. The sparkly pink boots had stayed on too, though they weren't as loud on the concrete path as they had been on the tile floors of the house. 

Checo was about to ask Lance if he was tired when he heard a loud shrieking from behind him. He spun around quickly, his heart pounding in his chest, to see Esteban had wandered the few extra inches away from him and was biting another kid. The other boy, a little fluffy blonde with a tooth gap, began crying loudly immediately and Esteban then headbutted him. Checo could see the red toothmarks from Esteban's bite on the boy's arm, and it took him a moment to react.

He hurriedly yanked Esteban away from the other kid and back towards him, tightening his hold on the leash immensely and gripping Esteban's arm too. Checo felt embarrassment, panic, and anger overwhelming him as people were staring at the commotion, including the parents of the child who had been Esteban's victim. The boy was crying and his mother was shushing him while glaring at Checo.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know why he did that. He's not my kid, I'm just his babysitter, I'm really so sorry miss," Checo blurted out, trying to save his dignity and genuinely feeling bad. He was beyond angry with Esteban and also frustrated with himself for letting his attention slip away from the troublesome boy for too long.

The mother just scoffed and picked her son up, muttering, "it's okay Pierre, let's get you to a doctor," as they stormed off. 

Checo's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and he grabbed Lance's hand again and tightly held Esteban's monkey leash so that he had to walk directly beside him. He quickly led them away from the scene and over to a nearby bench, where he sat down and pulled Esteban to stand directly in front of him. Lance crawled up to sit beside Checo and cuddled against his side. Checo took a few deep breaths and tried to stop himself from shaking, whether it was from his anger or attempting to hold back tears he wasn't sure.

" _Esteban_ ," he began in a tense voice, closing his eyes for a few seconds, "we do not, under any circumstance, _bite_ people. We do not hurt other people and we especially do not bite them. That was very, _very_ rude and you hurt that kid and made me look awful. Do you hear me loud and clear?"

Checo fixed him with a hard stare and for the first tine, he saw Esteban look a little meek in front of him. Normally Esteban only glared and fought back when Checo had to reprimand his questionable behavior, but this time, Esteban could tell how upset he was. 

"He pushed me though," Esteban protested after a few seconds, and he made a pouty face.

"Well if another kid pushes you, you come to me and I will take care of it. You don't bite him and act like one of these zoo animals," Checo sighed, "let's go back to the house now. Lance is very tired and we've been here for a few hours anyways."

Esteban was very quiet as they made their way out of the zoo, and Checo began to feel bad for them by the time they were back at his car. He unbuckled Esteban from the leash and kissed his forehead as he buckled him into his carseat. Esteban smiled and made grabby hands at him, and Checo hugged him for a second. 

Lance and Esteban were both quiet and tired by the time they were back at the Stroll's ridiculously large house. Checo carried them both inside and let them take a nap while he cleaned up the kitchen from the earlier mess with the eggs. Before they knew it, it was evening and time for dinner. Since Checo didn't trust his cooking skills anymore and there was little food in the house, he just ordered takeout for the three of them.

The two boys ate their dinner and wanted to watch a movie before going to bed. Checo lay on the couch while they sat on the floor, and he texted Nico about their day.

**how did things go today checutie? <3 **Nico had typed. Checo bit his lip to try to avoid laughing at the stupid nickname. 

**it was...a day. first I fucked up breakfast because I left eggs on a running stove and they burned. then we went to the zoo and it was all going great until the end, where Esteban bit a kid. we had a little talk though and I think he's alright now,** Checo responded back.

 **oh wow. thats. definitely something. I'll give you a nice back rub and a drink when we can be together again,** Nico sent him, and Checo sighed wistfully at the thought. He would have loved to have Nico massaging his back at that moment; he desperately needed it after all the stress.

As soon as he successfully tucked Lance and Esteban into bed, Checo poured himself a full glass of wine from the Stroll's expensive looking wine cabinet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe esteban bit pierre 🙈🙈


	3. Third Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could use a good cuddle from Checo rn sjsjs so I'm working on the last chapter of this fic ✌️🥺 tbh id be happy to hug baby lance and baby esteban too, they're absolutely adorable 👉👈

As unprofessional as it might have seemed, Checo downed a second full glass of wine after he finished the first. Lawrence Stroll had more expensive wine than any one person could reasonably keep track of, so he figured that it wasn't the end of the world if he drank a bit of it. The result was that Checo felt quite relaxed in comparison to earlier in the day, and he had no problem falling into a peaceful sleep when he dragged himself into the large guest bed.

Checo slept soundly with no sign of waking until somebody was climbing up onto the bed and grabbing his shoulder. He bolted awake and sat up with a gasp, expecting to see somebody breaking into the house or attempting to murder him. The last thing he needed was an attempted murder while he was on the job.

Instead, he found Esteban crying and sitting in his lap. Nearby, Lance stood in the doorframe, looking on awkwardly. Esteban was trying to say something but his quivering lips and his frequent sobs made it hard for Checo to understand what he was saying.

"Hey, hey calm down," Checo tried his best not to sound as exhausted as he now felt, "what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

He reached over to pull a tissue off of the nightstand and wiped Esteban's tears away. The boy continued crying for a few moments until he seemed to regain his breath again, clutching at Checo's arm and doing his best to calm down.

"My stuffed monkey fell out of the bed and now there's a rip in it's arm," Esteban complained.

It was obvious that he was distraught, and Checo instinctively cooed and pulled him into his arms, stroking Esteban's back and shushing him. He felt Esteban press his face against his t-shirt, and he would have been annoyed at the wet feeling of his tears soaking into his shirt were it not for the fact that he was sympathetic and felt bad for Esteban. A plush monkey injury might not be that serious to an adult, but to kids, it was a life or death scenario.

"Alright, we'll go take a look at the damage," Checo yawned. He turned on the lamp in the room and blinked a few times to adjust to the light. 

With Esteban in his arms, Checo kicked the blankets off and stood up, with Lance trailing behind him as he walked across the hall and into the kids' room. He set Esteban down and turned the lights on in there too. On the ground and next to the bed was Esteban's monkey, and Checo could see a loose nail on the bed frame that it might have gotten caught on. When he picked it up, there was a small tear in one of it's little arms. It wasn't anything that couldn't be easily fixed though, and Checo was sure he could repair it if he searched around the house long enough for a needle and thread. 

Checo carried the monkey back to Esteban and showed the tear to him. "It's nothing serious, I can fix it in the morning for you," he said, letting Esteban take the monkey back. Esteban nodded with wide eyes and let out a sigh of relief. 

"It's still very late, so let's get you guys back into bed," Checo suggested. Neither of the boys went to get back into Lance's bed though, and Checo raised an eyebrow at the way that they simply looked expectantly up at him. It took him a few seconds to figure out what they wanted, and he asked, "...you guys want to sleep with me, I'm assuming?"

Lance and Esteban nodded. Checo bit back a sigh and took each of their hands, leading them back to the guest bedroom. Part of him knew that he wouldn't sleep as well with two kids in the bed clinging to him, but he also knew that there would be no way to get them to sleep again if he didn't let him sleep in the guest bed with him. It was better to have them get a good sleep and him be a little more tired because of it, Checo thought. 

Esteban set the monkey up on the dresser in the guest room, not wanting it to get any further damaged. He and Lance both bounded over to the side of the large bed, and Checo made sure there were enough pillows for all of them before he picked Lance and Esteban up one by one and set them in the bed. Checo climbed in next to them and let out a surprised noise when Lance crawled over him to lay on his other side.

Now with a kid on either side of him, Checo pulled the sheets up over them and reached over to turn the lamp off again. He lay back against the soft pillows. There were only a few seconds before Lance and Esteban both were snuggling into his side. Lance tucked himself beneath Checo's arm and hid his face against his side, doing his best to get his little arms around Checo's torso. Esteban curled up with his head in Checo's chest and wrapped himself around him.

Checo took a deep breath and focused on laying still. Lance and Esteban fell asleep within a few minutes, their breathing becoming much more slow and relaxed. It took a little while longer for Checo to fall asleep too, which he desperately needed. At first, the weight of the kids lying on him made him feel like he was trapped and would never fall asleep. Eventually it became more comfortable, and he was dozing off with Lance and Esteban clinging to him.

* * *

He felt much more comfortable than he had expected to when he woke up the next morning. Checo easily rolled onto his side and nudged his face further into the soft pillow, hugging his arms beneath it and intending to sleep in a little later. He didn't even question the lack of weight on him that had been there when he went to sleep. It was only when Checo realized that the soft noises he was hearing were Lance and Esteban whispering and laughing did he realize that they were no longer sleeping on top of him.

Checo sighed and felt the relaxed feeling that had built up in him seeping away. He sat up and searched the room for the kids, finding them seated at the end of the bed and looking at his phone, which Checo was now regretting not putting a password on.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Checo snapped, leaning forward to take his phone away. The screen was on his text conversation with Nico, and Checo winced as he saw that they had been scrolling through and reading everything. At the very least, he was grateful that Nico hadn't sent anything that children shouldn't be seeing.

"Who's Nico? He was sending you texts," Lance chirped curiously. He and Esteban didn't seem to see anything wrong with snooping through their babysitter's phone.

Checo scrolled to the bottom of the messages to see what Nico had sent. He was also glad to see that the kids hadn't typed anything, which probably wouldn't have caused much damage since Nico would have figured out it wasn't him, but Checo still didn't need a bunch of troublesome children meddling in his relationship. As he held his phone protectively away from them, Checo said, "he's my boyfriend. And it's not good behavior to go through people's things like that."

"Your boyfriend?? Are you guys in love?" Esteban gasped with wide eyes. Lance looked a little more shy, and Checo had forgotten how funny it could be to see young kids reacting to romance.

"Well, I love him a lot, and I'm pretty sure he loves me too, so yes," Checo chuckled as he got out of bed. He had slept fairly decently despite being woken up during the night, but he still felt a bit drowsy and was hoping that Esteban wouldn't give him a run for his money while he was feeling some of the effects of drinking slightly too much the previous night. A shower might help him wake up, he decided.

Lance and Esteban crawled off the bed and followed him out into the kitchen, where Checo managed to make breakfast for them without it ending in disaster like the eggs had. He made a plate of waffles for each of them in the Stroll's overly-priced-and-a-bit too-high-end wafflemaker, and got them settled in front of the television with their breakfast before he went off to take a shower.

"Be good while I'm showering, okay? Just eat your breakfast and watch the tv. Put the plates on the coffee table if you finish," Checo gave them a stern glance. Lance and Esteban nodded, and Checo tentatively let out a breath as he dragged himself into the bathroom.

He turned on the shower water and was sure to set it to a fairly warm temperature before stepping out of the bathroom to get a pair of fresh clothes. On the bed, his phone buzzed with another text from Nico. Checo grabbed it and read what his boyfriend had sent him as he went back to the bathroom and began to peel his clothes off. So far, he hadn't heard any screaming or the fire alarms going off, so he assumed that Lance and Esteban were still doing alright without him.

**good morning bby i miss you <3, **Nico had sent first, followed by, **cant wait for you to get off babysitting duty so we can hang out.**

About half an hour had gone by before Nico had sent his last message, **btw Zeus misses you too,** which was accompanied by a picture of the fluffy dog moping on the couch with his head in Nico's lap. Checo couldn't stop himself from letting out an audible noise at the picture, wishing he could be there with Nico and his dog. It was his last day of babysitting though, and he reassured himself that he'd get to see them at the end of the day.

The warm water of the shower made Checo never want to step out from beneath it's relaxing pressure. His reluctance to be alive washed away with it down the drain, and he felt a little more ready to take on the day when he was out and getting dressed again.

Outside, Checo could hear the heavy rain pounding down on the roof of the large house. It meant that there wasn't much that he could do with the kids except stay inside and hope that they wouldn't get cooped up. Since their parents were hopefully to be back at the end of the day, Checo figured he would be able to keep them indoors and occupied for one day.

When he stepped back out into the living room, Lance and Esteban were still enthralled by the television. Nothing was broken or out of place, so Checo silently celebrated that small victory of making it through the morning without any disaster.

"I'll clean up the dishes, you two go get dressed. We'll have to stay inside today because it's raining out," Checo hummed as he picked up their plates. 

They whined momentarily but didn't protest, not that Checo would have been able to change the weather even if they did complain. He heard them scamper off as he walked into the kitchen to clean up the dishes. It wasn't long until they were running back into the kitchen, and Checo was just setting the plates out to dry when he felt someone tugging on the leg of his pants.

Esteban looked up at him with big eyes, and he looked like he was about to cry. There was clearly something he was desperate to ask and Checo could see tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. Behind him, Lance was wearing his cowboy boots once more and waiting for Checo's attention too.

"Can you fix my monkey now?" Esteban asked, and Checo nodded before leaning down to hug the boy.

"Don't cry, I'll fix it now," Checo shushed him, patting his back and feeling him hide his face against his shoulder. Lance stood a few feet away, and Checo reached for him too, and Lance happily hugged Esteban too. It was quite endearing how close the two of them had gotten during their brief stay together.

Checo followed Esteban back into the bedroom they had all slept in, and he carefully picked up the boy's sacred monkey from where it sat on the dresser. He took it back to the living room, setting it down on the coffee table. Lance and Esteban climbed onto the couch and sat there, with Lance doing his best to hug his friend and make him feel bettter. Checo took a moment to fawn silently over them, then leaving to look for a needle and thread.

It took a few minutes of searching, but Checo found what he was looking for in the bathroom, where there managed to be more cabinet space than in his entire university dorm room. He took a needle, thread, and a pair of scissors from the little box that sat in the cabinet, among a variety of other items.

Esteban and Lance were still cuddled up on the couch when he got back to the living room. Checo sat down between them and took the monkey from the coffee table. Both kids watched him intently as he cut the thread and squinted, trying to push the thread through the end of the needle.

"Go play or something, you guys don't need to sit here and stare at me," Checo chuckled. Not that having two little kids watching him was that stressful, but he figured that it would make Esteban less anxious and he could see Lance getting fidgety beside him.

Lance smiled and wordlessly pulled Esteban off of the couch with him. Checo let out a breath, relaxing now that the kids were entertaining themselves and not hovering over him. They ran back into the room a few minutes later, this time with a bunch of Lance's toy horses, which were immaculately painted and looked more expensive than everything Esteban had at home.

Glancing up at them every once in a while, Checo began to carefully resew the seam of the plush monkey's arm. It was a bit worn but still in good shape, and Checo knew that Esteban had had the toy for years. He could recall seeing the boy clutching the monkey and hiding behind it on the very first day that Checo had been hired to babysit him. The monkey had definitely seen a lot of love over the years; Checo hoped that he could keep it in good shape for Esteban.

It warmed his heart to see Esteban playing with the horses with Lance. Esteban could be a troublesome pain at times, but he was also a kid who didn't have many friends and didn't have much in life in general. Seeing him have a friend like Lance who he got along well with made the babysitter in Checo happy.

Checo methodically sewed up the hole in the monkey. He kept the stitches short and close together, tying it off when the gaps were all closed up and the monkey was back to its normal state.

Esteban's face when he handed him the repaired monkey was worth all the trouble that Checo had put up with over the past few days. He smiled brightly, his entire face lighting up, and he took the monkey from him and squeezed it tightly.

"Thank you!" Esteban gasped, and he let out an excited squeal.

Checo ruffled his hair and he was just going to sit back down to watch them play when the sound of the doorbell ringing echoed through the house. It was too early for either of the children's parents to be home, and Checo raised an eyebrow as he cautiously walked to the front door, hoping he wasn't about to be mugged or something. Perhaps he had missed a call from someone that they were on their way home early, Checo worried, and he was already preparing an apology when he opened the door.

Instead, he was faced with an unexpected yet still very welcome face in front of him. There stood Nico, wrapped in a raincoat and holding his fluffy little dog in his arms.

"Oh my god, Nico! Come in, what are you doing here?" Checo exclaimed, cracking the door open further and beckoning his boyfriend to come inside.

Nico gave him a warm smile and stepped through the threshold, setting Zeus down and shrugging his coat off once Checo had closed the door. His blonde hair was all messed up from having the hood of his coat pulled up and Checo instinctively leaned up to smooth it down with his hand, which got a laugh from Nico, who pulled him into a soft kiss shortly after.

"I figured you could use a little help on your last day of babysitting. Plus I missed seeing you," Nico murmured, cupping his cheek in the palm of his warm hand and tracing the dusting of freckles on his nose with the tip of his finger.

"It's good to see you too," Checo said, leaning into his touch and feeling his cheeks flush with warmth. There was a high pitched whine from right next to them, and they looked down to see Zeus sitting and waiting for someone to give him attention. He laughed and bent down to pat the dog's head, saying, "and you too, buddy."

Checo led Nico through the house and into the living room, where Lance and Esteban were still playing on the ground, with the monkey seated on the couch next to them. Zeus scampered alongside them, his little paws pattering on the floors.

"Lance, Esteban, this is my boyfriend Nico, the guy you were trying to text earlier," Checo said, "and this is his dog, Zeus."

Zeus sniffed at the carpet and ran around the room, investigating and seeing if there was anything worth his interest. Esteban gasped and watched the dog run around, just as amazed at him as he was at the animals he had seen at the zoo. H and Lance both watched the dog for a few seconds before they turned their attention to Nico.

Esteban ran up and wrapped himself around Nico's leg, hugging him and looking up a few seconds later. Nico smiled and leaned down to properly hug him, with Lance coming over to hug him a few seconds later. Checo bit his lip and wrapped his arms around himself to try to stop himself from cooing at the sight. His boyfriend with two young kids was just too cute for him to resist.

"Hi," Lance said quietly once they let go. He ducked his head shyly and peeked up at Nico through his eyelashes.

"Hello, have you guys been good for Checo?" Nico asked, reaching out to ruffle Esteban's hair. Esteban looked down at the ground, a bit embarrassed by the question.

"Not _all_ the time," Esteban murmured, "but he's really mean sometimes! And annoying!"

Checo frowned at his insistence, whereas Nico just laughed. He stood up and pulled Checo closer to him, wrapping his arm around his waist. The taller man kissed the top of his head and said, "well, for what it's worth, sometimes Checo doesn't behave either."

"What?! What does that mean?" Checo whined, pouting up at him. Lance and Esteban both giggled, and Checo felt his cheeks flush red with embarrassment.

"You aren't always perfectly behaved either," Nico teased, "like when you stay up until three in the morning to talk to me, and that time you didn't do your project for a class because we were baking the whole day and you didn't want to quit."

The memories that came flooding back to him were enough to make Checo smile and lean into his hug. He rolled his eyes, but laughed along with Lance and Esteban, who were giddy at the thought of their babysitter acting up. They both were crowded around Nico and begging for his attention, and Zeus came running up to join the commotion, yipping and jumping around their legs.

"So don't worry, your big mean babysitter sometimes acts up too, all grown ups do. Don't use that against him though," Nico chuckled. He looked down at Zeus, who seemed to be getting quite upset at the lack of attention he was getting.

"Puppy!" Esteban cooed, reaching out to pat his head. Zeus quieted down and preened under the kids' hands.

"That's Zeus. He loves the attention, he'll be happy to play with you for the entire day," Nico chuckled. Lance and Esteban both squeaked in excitement and ran around with the dog, and Checo hoped that they'd wear each other out so the two boys would behave when their parents got home.

Once he was sure that Lance and Esteban were safely playing with Zeus, Checo let himself be dragged over to sit on the couch with Nico, who promptly pulled him into his lap. Nico wrapped his arms around him and kissed his cheek, the sound of the kids and the dog playing not a bother to them. Checo blushed and let out a long sigh, turning to rest his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. The past few days had been exhausting for him, and the chance to sit down with the man he loved was relieving.

"You look tired," Nico hummed, reaching up to run his fingers through Checo's hair.

"When I get home, I think I'm just going to sleep for the next three days. Or at the very least, I'm not getting out of bed for three days," Checo groaned. He felt sore again, despite the hot shower he had taken earlier, and the feeling of Nico's hand rubbing his shoulder made him smile.

"I'll be happy to take you to bed for three days," Nico offered as he nuzzled his nose against Checo's neck. There was an air of false innocence to his voice and Checo let out a shocked sound and slapped his arm lightly when he figured out what he meant.

"Don't be horny, Nico! I'm still at work technically," he said, breaking off into a yawn. Checo rubbed his eyes and couldn't hold back another yawn.

Nico shifted to let Checo lay along the length of the couch, with his head in Nico's lap. Checo curled up comfortably, smiling when Nico ran his hands through his hair. He knew he shouldn't fall asleep, he still needed to attempt to control Lance and Esteban and he wasn't sure he quite trusted them to listen to Nico. The call of sleep was too strong though, and Checo tried to fight it as he lay in Nico's lap.

"Just go to sleep, love, it's clear you need it," Nico said, holding back a laugh at his boyfriend's sleepiness.

"But the kids..." Checo mumbled, "I'm still babysitting, can't be sleeping."

"I'll watch them. They're playing with Zeus, I'm sure he'll tire them out well enough," Nico eventually persuaded him. Against his better judgment, Checo let his tired eyes fall shut and he fell asleep shortly after, with Nico still stroking his hair.

* * *

When he woke up a few hours later, Checo found that there was nobody on the couch with him anymore. In fact, there didn't even appear to be anybody in the house at all. He got up, knowing that silence usually meant the kids were up to something, and he could only hope that nothing had gone fatally wrong while he was asleep.

Peace and silence was something that always came to an end while he was babysitting. This time was par for the course, as Checo soon heard the sound of barking, Nico yelling, and both of the children yelling too. He gave an exasperated sigh before running off down the hall to where the noise was coming from. Along the way, Checo noticed wet and colourful paw prints dotting the floor, leading to the bathroom, where the three voices remained chaotically talking over one another.

Just as he was about to enter the room, Zeus scampered out and down the hall, tracking more prints behind him. He was covered in what appeared to be paint, which Checo could see was all over Nico, Lance, and Esteban when he stood in the bathroom door frame with his hands on his hips. His boyfriend cringed when he saw him, looking stressed. The three of them were a mess, as was the bathroom and the dog that had taken off down the hall.

“What is going on here!? Why do things always descend into madness when I’m asleep?” Checo cried, gesturing wildly to the paint on the bathroom floor.

“For once it wasn’t my fault completely,” Esteban blurted out, his little hands covered in paint.

“The kids wanted to paint, so we looked around the house for some paint and they were in here getting a cup of water to wash the paintbrushes with. The bottles of paint were set on the floor, and Zeus came in and knocked them over. He got paint all over him and I tried to catch him before he could run away but he slipped out of my arms. I managed to chase him back in here but then he just escaped again,” Nico confessed, and Checo would have laughed at the pleading look on his face were it not for the fact that he had to clean up a mansion, a dog, his boyfriend, and two kids before the parents of said kids got home in a few hours.

“Jesus Christ,” Checo swore, burying his face in his hands momentarily, “alright, Lance and Esteban, wash your hands and clean the paint off the floor. I’ll get you paper towels from the kitchen. Nico, you and I will go get the damn dog. We’ll have to give him a bath and wipe up the mess he’s made around the house...and somehow do all of this before the parents get home.”

He got quick nods from the three of them and he ran back down the hall to snatch the paper towels from the kitchen, carefully leaning into the bathroom to set them on the counter without stepping in any of the paint. Lance and Esteban crowded around the sink to wash their hands and Nico danced around them and over the mess of paint to join Checo in the hall. 

“Nico I swear to god if I get fired for ruining Lawrence Stroll’s hardwood floors, the only bed you’ll be in for three days is a hospital bed,” Checo cried as they frantically searched down the hall. 

Nico made a face but knew that he was rather justified in being upset. He looked like he wanted to say something in return for a moment, until he pointed over Checo’s shoulder. Turning around, Checo saw Zeus laying in a puddle of paint on the floor of the office room.

“Call him over and pick him up, just don’t let him get away this time,” Checo urged him quietly.

“Why me?” Nico whispered back urgently.

“Because it’s your dog! And because you’re already covered in paint anyways and I don’t want to get messy,” Checo insisted, giving him a light shove.

Nico scoffed and gave him a frown, though he didn’t complain. Creeping forward, Nico whistled and held his hand out, and Zeus wagged his paint coated tail at the sight of him. Checo held his breath, hoping that the dog wouldn’t run and make even more of a mess for them to clean up. He exhaled in relief when Nico was able to scoop Zeus up into his arms without trouble, and they hurriedly made their way back down the hall to the bathroom.

Lance and Esteban were wiping paint off of the tile floors with damp paper towels, and they wiped the newly cleaned floor dry shortly after Nico came skidding to a stop with Zeus happily in his arms.

“Alright, we need to give him a bath now. You two go change into clean clothes and then just...play in Lance’s room or something, do something that won’t involve another mess for me to clean up,” Checo said and he ushered the boys out of the bathroom.

Nico awkwardly stood there with his dog and his clothes covered with paint, while Checo pulled some fancy looking shampoo out from underneath the cabinet. He was sure to close the door to ensure that Zeus wouldn’t trash any more of the house even if he escaped from the bathtub. Once he turned the bath on, Checo dumped a liberal amount of the soap into the water and plugged the drain. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up, buddy,” Nico hummed as he set Zeus in the water. He was about to kneel on the ground when Checo grabbed his arm to stop him.

“No, you’ll get the floor messy again, I’ll wash him. Um...go wear some of my clothes or something,” Checo muttered. He knelt on the ground and began to rub the shampoo into Zeus’ fur, not noticing the amused look Nico gave him.

“It’s cute that you think I’d fit into your clothes, babe,” Nico chuckled, “but I think my gym clothes are in my car. I can wear those instead.”

Checo continued to scrub the soap off of the dog as his boyfriend hauled himself outside in the rain to get a change of clothes. Zeus sat there the whole time with a rather pleased look on his little face, occasionally poking his tongue out and looking like he was smiling at Checo. It took a few minutes of soaping him up and rinsing him off for all the paint to come off of the dog, and the water had become a rather interesting mess of colours by the time Zeus was clean again. He could hear Nico outside, wiping paint off of the floors in the hall, as he carefully took Zeus out of the bathtub and wrapped him in a towel.

The little dog thankfully stood still as Checo rubbed him down with a towel. His long, soft fur had soaked up a lot of the water, and Checo did as best as he could to get him dry. When he was done, Checo kept him wrapped in the towel and carried him like a baby to Lance's room, where the two kids were on the floor and playing with Lance's toy horses. He set Zeus down and quickly said, "keep him in here and for the love of god don't let him get into anything again while we clean the rest of the paint up."

When he closed the door, Checo turned around to see Nico back in the house. With his paint-stained clothes replaced, he looked a bit funny in a pair of gym shorts and a faded t-shirt, also soaked by the rain from outside. Checo smiled for the first time since he woke up, finally starting to laugh at the situation they were in.

"What's so funny?" Nico asked, breaking out into a grin as well.

"Oh honey, you came here to help me babysit and this is how it turned out: we're rushing to bathe the dog, wash the bathroom, get the kids clean, and wipe up the halls now too before the parents get back. You keep me on my toes, Nico," Checo said, coming forward to put his hands on Nico's shoulders. He leaned up to kiss his cheek, knowing that they should probably stop standing around and get to cleaning but appreciating the moment anyways.

"I'm sorry, babe," Nico murmured, looking a bit defeated, "I really wanted to help. I didn't think it would turn out this way and I ended up making it more stressful and chaotic for you instead of making it easier."

"Don't feel bad, I'd rather it be chaotic with you than on my own. Let's be real, if you hadn't come, those boys would have managed to get up to trouble in another way. I'm just glad I get to see you," Checo reassured him, "now let's get the rest of halls cleaned up."

They took the paper towels and wiped up every speck of paint that coated the wooden floors of the hallways and rooms that Zeus had ventured into. It seemed to last forever; every time they thought they had gotten all the paint, they turned another corner to find more of Zeus' paw prints. Checo was exhausted and his back ached by the time they had finished going through the whole house and making sure there was no paint left on the ground. He and Nico trudged back down the hall, opening the door to Lance's bedroom and letting the three bundles of energy burst out of the room.

Lance and Esteban went sprinting down the hall and back into the living room, with Zeus scampering along behind him. Nico slung an arm over Checo's shoulders and guided him into the living room as well, where they sat down on the sofa while Lance and Esteban patted Zeus' damp head.

"Both of your parents are going to be here soon, Esteban you might want to go get your things together in a bit," Checo advised them.

Lance and Esteban both turned to him with pleading eyes, and Lance wrapped his arms around Esteban and said, "but I don't want him to go! He's my friend." Checo gave them a sympathetic smile and motioned for them to sit beside him. Instead of sitting on either side of him, Lance climbed onto his lap, followed by Esteban, and both kids lay against him.

Checo was a bit surprised, but he wrapped an arm around each of them, kissing the top of Esteban's head and ruffling Lance's hair at the same time. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nico giving him an adoring look.

"I know, babies, you guys seem to have gotten close quickly. Your parents know each other though, so you can always get together and play again. And I'd be happy to take care of you two anytime," Checo cooed to comfort them. Whether or not he'd survive babysitting the two of them again was dubious, but Checo liked to think he could do it again. The beaming smiles that Lance and Esteban wore while playing with each other was worth the trouble that they caused him.

When the Strolls and the Ocons got back, the former to come home and the latter to pick their son up, Lance and Esteban said a tearful goodbye that involved many hugs and making their parents promise that they could play again soon. Checo received many thanks and a generous tip from Lance's parents, which he accepted bashfully. He was more than ready to get back to Nico's house and relax for the rest of his break from school by the time that Esteban had gone home and he and Nico were leaving too.

After following Nico back to his house, Checo found himself back where his chaotic three days had started: laying on the couch at Nico's house, his cheek resting against his boyfriend's chest. He let out a long groan at the pain in his back and the weariness that he felt, and a second later he felt Nico's larger hands on his back, rubbing at the tension gathered between his shoulder blades.

"So, after three days of parenting, what are your thoughts on having kids someday?" Nico asked in a teasing voice.

"Oh man, it's way harder than I thought it would be. But damn is it cute to see them happy...so maybe someday. Today felt more like taking care of three toddlers," Checo responded, glancing up at Nico and smiling. He could see the gears in his boyfriend's head turning and it took Nico a moment to get what he was saying.

"Don't be so mean to me," Nico laughed, kissing the tip of his freckled nose, "you're too cute to be as mean as those kids think you are."

The noise of the rain gently falling on the roof was calming and Checo was much more comfortable now that he was home with Nico once more. A smile came to his face as he thought about the chaos they had found themselves just hours ago, and he looked up at Nico, feeling a sense of adoration wash over him.

Whatever new shenanigans befell them in the future, Checo was sure he could handle them alongside Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i never know how to end fics jsjshdh hope u all enjoyed this tho :o) babysitter checo and little bebe lance and esteban are the best tbh and maybe i'll write more of this au in the future!! but this concludes this fic hehe

**Author's Note:**

> this literally was not supposed to be a multichapter fic but here we are. I have the rest of the 3 chapters planned out sjsjs I'll try to get em done in a timely manner.
> 
> as always you can find me on tumblr @esteboo-ocon ❤️


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